Barbara Jean Schmidt (née Ruggles), age 87, formerly of Billings, MT and Houston, TX passed away in Benton, LA on Sunday May 22, 2022. Barbara was born in Wheatland County, MT on November 28, 1934, to Kenneth and Gladys Ruggles (née Clements) and was the oldest of five children.  She graduated from Billings Senior High School in Billings, MT in 1951.  She attended Billings Business College, receiving her diploma in Stenography in 1951.  She received a second Stenography diploma from the Vocational-Technical Center in Billings in 1972.

Barbara married Loren James Schmidt of Fargo, ND on September 18, 1953.  They had three daughters, Lorna, Leslie and Kristi.  Originally residing in Missoula, MT, they transferred with Loren's job at Enco to Billings, MT in 1962, residing there until 1976 when they again accepted a job transfer with Exxon to Houston, TX.  In Billings, they attended First Presbyterian Church and in Houston, they attended First Presbyterian Church of Sugar Land.  Barbara recently moved to Benton, LA to be near her daughter and son-in-law.

In Billings, Barbara worked at Will James Junior High School as the principal's secretary.  However, her passion was being creative as a self-taught professional seamstress.  In addition to making Barbie doll clothes for her young daughters, she would sew most of their clothing, trending them with current fashions.  She also sewed clothing for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, most notably, their awesome Halloween costumes and various outfits for church and school activities. She would sew clothing for clients, even having some who mailed the sewing materials to her in Houston after she moved.  In Houston, she started model garment sewing for fabric stores such as Cloth World.  She also sewed wedding and bridesmaid dresses for clients, was commissioned by the local school district to sew the annual cheerleading uniforms and made various custom costumes for a local costume shop. There wasn't a garment made that she couldn't alter to fit the subject!  A very talented lady, she reupholstered the occasional couch and even once re-covered a set of car seats for her daughter.  Barbara was also a self-taught knitter and crocheter.  In Houston, she began crocheting baby caps with her church's knitting group, donating baby caps to the church boutique.  Later was a volunteer at the West Houston Medical Center where she belonged to the "Stitches" group, crocheting holiday decorations, baby caps, and caps for cancer patients.  This was only a small portion of her volunteer work, clocking more than 20,000 volunteer hours at West Houston Medical Center over the years.

Barbara was preceded in death by her husband Loren who passed away in 1994, her parents Ken and Gladys Ruggles and her brother Willis Ruggles.  She is survived by her three daughters and their families,

Lorna DeSocio, husband Dennis of Billings, MT
Grandchildren   Rayna Schultes, husband Andy of Lustre, MT
Anthony DeSocio, wife Adey of Billings, MT
Great-grandchildren Brooklynn and Benton

Leslie Gardner, husband Stuart of Nampa, ID
Grandchildren   Meghan Hayes, husband Greg of Floyds Knobs, IN
Great-grandchildren Garrett and Everett
Melissa Marek of Nampa, ID
Maisie Taylor, husband Jake of Seneca, OR
Great-grandchildren Grace, Blair, and Floyd

Kristi Shacklette, husband Craig of Benton, LA
Grandchildren   Ryan Doran, wife Mariam of Houston, TX
Great-grandchildren Alexander and Ethan

She is also survived by her siblings Larry Ruggles of Livingston, MT; Vera Uhl of McKinney, TX; Ranny Ruggles of Elma, WA; and many nieces and nephews.

Barbara will be interred at Sunset Memorial Gardens in Billings, MT next to her husband Loren.  A graveside service will be held on June 24, 2022, at 1:00pm.